don’t know if i’ve gotten a tarck opinion about this before, but i’m still thinking about crimping some chainstays for tire clearance.
i’ve looked around and seen various clamping devises that people have built but… I figure someone here has got to have done this. tips, warnings?
obviously a steel frame. need maybe 5mm on each side for what I want.
there is no chance that one of us isn’t dying to get rid of a frame that would fit your tire.
I really dont need another bike frame in my life. I’d rather risk ruining this one
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crimp on crimpeur
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maybe i could get one of these Tube Clamp 1in I.D. x 2in Wide | Allstar Performance and make a die out of something
A block of wood shaped to fit the outside of your stay to prevent any clamping from crushing the wrong side, a 10mm socket placed where you want more room on the inside, and a standard bar clamp will do the trick. I did it many years ago on a trashed frame to see for myself how it worked and it was pretty easy, but also pretty easy to too far once you’ve started the crimp. A little goes a long way,
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I need to buy some new bike racks to put in parks. What are y’all’s favorites to lock up to?
Staple is tried and true, but oh the many possibilities
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My dentist in Portland had tooth shaped racks!
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I don’t have a good pic of mine but it’s just a form welded to a c-clamp. I’ve used it on heat-treated JPN Tange Prestige and boy was it a workout to get 4mm/side but it came out nice without hardly even any paint damage.
Compared to 1990s Tru Temper ??? which was like butter in comparison and felt like I could have just used my fingers with IMRON paint flakes shooting everywhere.
I’ve thought about offering to send it around but it’s like $15 each way shipping and I think most people could have one made up for about that much.
I cut off part of this and then welded it to a C-Clamp:
Even if you had to buy everything including a hacksaw and pay to get it welded, it would cost like $50 at most.
The biggest process thing to pay attention to is the keeping everything straight and level, the first few practice times I did this the clamp wanted to rotate both axially and vertically even with someone holding it in place. Go slow and check fit as you go, be prepared to open back up the dropouts and check both dropout and chainstay alignment. Mark Bulgier has a ton of posts about this on IBOB but they’re not particularly helpful if you’re more YOLO and less compulsive research until the last minute like I am.
Some inspo if you need it:
This isn’t mine but I tried it and it’s so fiddly to get everything aligned and through the process I gave up. IMO the form really needes to be welded to the clamp but others have had good luck without I guess.
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I was the student rep to the alternative transportation committee when I was in college and wrote a paper arguing for these modified staple racks to replace of the old wheel-bender style. I think the modified staple is marginally better than the standard staple for locking up unusually-shaped bikes with a U-lock. They now have tons of them around campus, which makes me very happy.
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What kind of clamping force is needed to crimp? I don’t know the tubing, probably nothing exotic, the frame is unknown and not high end, very average lugged steel. I have a trigger clamp that is ‘300 lb’ of force. Feels like it would be easier to control than a c clamp.
nooop
You really embody old school tarck vibes
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Seconding c-clamp over trigger clamp. Depending on how tight it is between the stays, I have also seen people use large vice-grips with welded-on outer cradle and inner form.
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With c clamp it’s easy to dial it in very slowly
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Thank you for the helpful responses
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My tires suck on the Nutrino. What’s good for faster 20" city tires? Currently some Vee crap.
Are Tioga Power Block still good? Do I need to get the folding, or are they too fragile?